Kucio Cezary, Niesporek Justyna, Kucio Ewa, Narloch Dominika, Węgrzyn Bartosz
The Department of Physiotherapy at the Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice. Poland; The Division of Internal Medicine at Multidisciplinary Hospital in Jaworzno. Poland.
The Department of Physiotherapy at the Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice. Poland.
J Hum Kinet. 2016 Dec 15;54:75-82. doi: 10.1515/hukin-2016-0054. eCollection 2016 Dec 1.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a systemic disease with multiple extrapulmonary manifestations including impeded skeletal muscle function, leading to decreased muscular strength and endurance in patients with COPD. Pulmonary rehabilitation eases the symptoms of the condition and produces increased muscular endurance. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) may serve as a treatment alternative to traditional pulmonary rehabilitation. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of NMES combined with pulmonary rehabilitation on exercise tolerance in patients in comparison with pulmonary rehabilitation alone. The subjects included 30 patients with COPD randomly assigned to one of the two groups. The first group consisted of 15 patients who were treated with neuromuscular electrical stimulation at frequency of 35Hz and pulmonary rehabilitation (NMES+RP). The second group comprised 15 patients treated with pulmonary rehabilitation only (RP). Pre- and poststudy assessments were performed. The retrospective evaluation including an exercise tolerance test (i.e. six minute walk test (6MWT)), spirometry and blood gasometry was carried out after 3 weeks. Twenty-eight patients in total completed the study. In the NMES+RP group, an increase in exercise tolerance manifested by a longer distance walked in the 6MWT was observed in comparison to the pulmonary rehabilitation group. No effects of NMES combined with pulmonary rehabilitation on selected spirometric and gasometric parameters in patients with COPD were observed in comparison with traditional pulmonary rehabilitation. The acquired results suggest that NMES of the lower limbs may be applied as an additional form of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD.
慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）是一种具有多种肺外表现的全身性疾病，包括骨骼肌功能障碍，导致COPD患者肌肉力量和耐力下降。肺康复可缓解该疾病的症状并提高肌肉耐力。神经肌肉电刺激（NMES）可作为传统肺康复的替代治疗方法。本研究的目的是评估与单纯肺康复相比，NMES联合肺康复对患者运动耐力的影响。研究对象包括30例COPD患者，随机分为两组。第一组由15例患者组成，接受频率为35Hz的神经肌肉电刺激和肺康复治疗（NMES+RP）。第二组由15例仅接受肺康复治疗的患者组成（RP）。在研究前后进行评估。3周后进行回顾性评估，包括运动耐力测试（即六分钟步行测试（6MWT））、肺功能测定和血气分析。共有28例患者完成了研究。与肺康复组相比，NMES+RP组在6MWT中表现出运动耐力增加，即步行距离更长。与传统肺康复相比，未观察到NMES联合肺康复对COPD患者选定的肺功能和血气参数有影响。获得的结果表明，下肢NMES可作为COPD患者肺康复的一种额外形式应用。
